stock here: this is kind of funny. Move over Ryan Gosling!
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is the type of “progressive sex symbol” modern women want, a liberal Washington Post columnist argued in her column published Friday.
“Move over, Ryan Gosling. The modern female fantasy is embodied by the man who might soon become our first First Gentleman,”Catherine Rampell wrote.
What is curious, is that this same writer, criticized the so-called Harris plan to put price controls on basic food items, like Venezuela or Cuba.
Since Gov. Tim Walz joined the 2024 Democratic ticket, media figures and Harris supporters have argued that Walz and Emhoff embrace a more modern version of masculinity that men should aspire to.
In leaving his prestigious law career to support Vice President Harris after the 2020 presidential race, Emhoff showed he was the kind of “fantasy man” women dream about, Rampell claimed in her column.
“Emhoff appears to be a genuine mensch with an impressive career. He’s smitten with his wife and supports her ambitions, as is obvious from his convention speech and their sweet interactions on the campaign trail,” she continued. “But most important for this sexy sobriquet: Emhoff is secure enough with his own masculinity to sometimes prioritize his wife’s ambitions over his own.”
Rampell dismissed questions about Emhoff’s role model husband status after he recently admitted to an extramarital affair that ended his first marriage.
“Whatever his previous marital drama, that makes him the working woman’s ideal partner today: He’s a high-achieving alpha, but isn’t threatened if his wife is, too,” the columnist continued her argument. “He loves his job, but he loves his wife more. He knows that ‘supporting’ one’s family is about more than financial support, and that temporarily setting aside his own professional ego makes him no less of a man.”
The columnist argued that the Democrats’ version of masculinity stands in sharp contrast to Republicans’ version of manliness.
“Women at least want a mate who won’t resent their career success — a tangible concern, given that divorce has been statistically more likely when women received job promotions or outearn their husbands. Hence, the Emhoffian ‘wife guy’ fantasy. Which, needless to say, sharply contrasts with conservatives’ portrayal of manliness,” she argued.
“Instead of helping men appreciate how they fit into their evolving families and communities today, Trump offers sexist name-calling and weaponized nostalgia. ‘Make America Great Again’ means returning to a 1950s-era economy, with its attendant gender (and racial) roles,” she scolded.
What women actually want is “to be valued and supported as much as they deserve,” by their husbands in private and public, she wrote. “On that score, Emhoff looks like a dreamboat.”
Rampell isn’t the only media figure making this case. CNN anchor Dana Bash recently said that Democrats are trying to appeal to men who might not be as masculine as their Republican counterparts.
“But they are doing so in trying to put forward male figures, Tim Walz being one of them, Doug Emhoff last night, who can speak to men out there who might not be the sort of testosterone-laden, you know, gun-toting kind of guy who wants to listen to Hulk Hogan and the kind of players that came out at the RNC or might want to listen to that,” she said.
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes also praised Walz’s “different kind of masculinity” in comments last week.
“We’re kind of seeing it in the NFL with the Kelces, and Dan Campbell – this idea that ‘big, tough football guy’ isn’t separate from showing emotion and empathy,” Kimes said on Pablo Torre’s podcast. “Yes, they’re calling him ‘coach’ and what not, but in the same breath, they are emphasizing, ‘this man, the year he was a football coach, also ran the gay-straight alliance at the high school.’ That’s really powerful in a way that goes far beyond politics and electability, which is the discussion we’re having. There are very few models like that in American public life.”
stock here: planning my next trip. The Hawaiian Asian Polynesian Japanese mixtures of foods are mostly healthy and super tasty. I want to try these places that Foodie King visits. He visits the Buddist temple where they do a Thai Village food fest, and says please follow their dress code, no bikini, have some respect and the food is frickin good! LOL.
stock here: He really did repeal a law that protected babies that “got out”, so that if the baby was born, the mom or presumably the husband could also demand that the doctor kill the baby out of womb. This was 2023.”
In Minnesota under Governor Tim Walz, the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act was signed into law in 2023, ensuring the right to abortion without explicit gestational limits. This makes Minnesota one of the states with the most expansive abortion rights in the country. The law enshrines access to abortion and other reproductive health services, such as birth control and sterilization, and prevents local governments from enacting restrictions.
However, the claim that 5-6 babies are “born alive and then murdered” under these laws is more complex. Reports do indicate that between 2019 and 2022, several infants were born alive during abortion procedures, but the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, which required care for such infants, was repealed in 2023. This has led to controversy, with critics labeling it a medical and ethical concern (MPR News)
Welcome to the race, Tim Walz! Let’s make sure America knows who you are.
You helped ignite the George Floyd riots, the worst the country had seen in decades. While Minneapolis burned, you stalled on deploying the National Guard for an entire day, blaming the city for not submitting the right paperwork.
You let your daughter leak the Guard’s deployment plans online, so that rioters would know how long they had to loot the city with impunity. Minneapolis is a war zone because of you.
Just days after the attempted murder of Donald Trump, you called him and his supporters “fascists,” egging on the same rhetoric that led to him being shot in the first place.
You have overseen some of the most radical youth trans surgery laws in the country. Under your leadership teenagers can get their breast chopped off and get sterilized, and your government calls it “healthcare.”
You have the most radical abortion laws in the country. Zero limits. Every year 5-6 babies are BORN ALIVE and then murdered “legally” under laws you support.
On immigration, you famously said you wanted to provide a “ladder” so invaders can come over Trump’s wall. You are a radical open border zealot.
You oversaw the single worst fraud of the Covid era, the Feeding Our Future case. Thanks to ineptitude at your Department of Education, criminals stole $250 million of taxpayer dollars to spend on luxury cars, houses, and vacations.
Also during Covid, you approved $500 million in “hero pay” for frontline workers, only to have 40% of that money go to people who were ineligible or, in many cases, literally deceased.
In the House, you were Pelosi’s sidekick and did whatever the Democrats demanded.
You will try and disguise yourself as a folksy midwestern moderate. In reality, you are a white male version of Kamala Harris.
Radical. Inept. Undeserving to be in leadership. Make this go viral. Ruin their honeymoon. Let’s educate millions because the media will not.
stock here: Although in typical agreement with much of what he says, I rarely visit for a fire side chat, as they are too predictable and too preachy. But they do have a pretty loud voice.
Rosa, once a happy teenager, spiraled into confusion during the Covid lockdowns, leading her to believe she was in the wrong body. Dr. Miriam Grossman, a child psychiatrist, highlights the growing medical crisis of gender dysphoria, which has surged by 5,000% in recent years. Grossman criticizes the medical establishment for pushing gender-affirming care, rooted in flawed research, that can result in irreversible damage to young people like Rosa. While countries like the UK, Sweden, and Finland are pulling back on medical interventions in favor of counseling, the U.S. and Canada continue down a dangerous path. Grossman urges her medical colleagues to stand against this agenda and protect vulnerable children. Rosa’s story ended well thanks to early intervention, but many others are still at risk.
The incidence of gender dysphoria has increased 5,000% over the past decade. A French report has called current treatments potentially “one of the greatest ethical scandals in the history of medicine.” So, why do the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and many other medical associations support it?
PragerU is not an accredited university, nor do we claim to be. We don’t offer degrees, but we do provide educational, entertaining, pro-American videos for every age. View counts represent cumulative views from our website and social media channels.
Rosa was a smart, happy fourteen-year-old when she met her first boyfriend.
“I found my forever”, she told everyone – until he suddenly ended it.
Rosa was devastated – and the Covid lockdowns made things worse. She was isolated in her room all day, surfing the net.
As the lockdowns dragged on, Rosa became sullen, irritable, and withdrawn.
Her tank tops and shorts were replaced by oversize hoodies and baggy sweatpants
One day Rosa came home with a buzz cut. Shortly after, she declared she was a boy and demanded testosterone.
During my medical training, Rosa’s condition, now called gender dysphoria, was so rare, I never imagined I would see even one case in my lifetime. But over the past decade, the incidence of gender dysphoria has increased five thousand percent.
What changed?
Why did Rosa believe she was in the wrong body, and that without pharmaceuticals and operations, she’d never be happy?
Why do the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and many other medical associations claim that Rosa’s delusion is normal? Why do they recommend treatment that will disfigure and possibly sterilize her healthy body?
Before I answer that, let me tell you what hasn’t changed:
Sex is established at the moment of conception. Sex is permanent. While Rosa’s body can be modified, she will never be a boy.
Never.
But my profession has been hijacked by a political crusade determined to erase the very notion of male and female.
Medical associations have become mouthpieces for the gender zealots’ radical theories:
Individuals construct their own reality. If Rosa feels she’s a boy, she is one.
Hormones and surgery are the only solutions to gender dysphoria. If Rosa wants to grow a beard and to have her breasts removed, she has that fundamental right.
Those are the premises of so-called Gender Affirming Care.
Proponents claim the approach is evidence based, but the evidence is flimsy at best.
It rests on one small study done in Holland thirty years ago with only 55 subjects.
The primary entry requirement was severe gender distress from early childhood.
The subjects were given puberty blockers, opposite sex hormones, and occasionally surgery.
After 18 months, some subjects reported modest improvement.
The study had no control group and was never replicated, so for those and many other reasons, it’s considered seriously flawed and unreliable.
The “Dutch Protocol” was never intended to be the basis for helping all individuals distressed about their sex.
But that’s what’s happened. A tiny, defective study became the basis of gender medicine around the world.
This is a medical scandal, a man-made catastrophe, that has shattered many lives – not only of young people, but those who love them.
My colleagues, who should be protecting vulnerable kids like Rosa, are complicit in this atrocity.
Some by writing prescriptions, others with a scalpel, but the majority by witnessing the evil and remaining silent.
But there is reason for hope.
The most comprehensive review yet of Gender Affirming Care was recently commissioned by the National Health Service in Great Britain.
Dr. Hilary Cass, former president of Britain’s Royal College of Pediatrics, analyzed data from England’s Tavistock Gender clinic, the largest in the world until it was shut down in 2024.
Her report is a scathing indictment of the clinic’s practices. She demonstrates there is no evidence medical interventions benefit gender-distressed young people.
What the kids need, Dr. Cass concludes, is counseling.
Great Britain, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark have essentially stopped medical treatment of teens whose bodies are one hundred percent healthy, and are focusing on their minds and hearts.
The Netherlands, France, and Belgium are not far behind. In March of 2024, a report in France described sex reassignment in minors as potentially “one of the greatest ethical scandals in the history of medicine.”
But in the US and Canada, I’m sorry to say, it’s full steam ahead.
How do we stop this runaway train?
As a doctor, I’m going to put the responsibility on my colleagues. Do your research. You’re not hearing the other side of the debate. Read the Cass Report. Your medical associations have lost their way. Understand this is not about compassion or rights, it’s about tyranny.
Stand up to the activist bullies. Speak out against the sacrifice of children on the altar of a perverse political agenda.
Let me end where I began: with Rosa. Her story has a happy ending: her parents and I pulled her back from the brink. Tragically, many other Rosas have been lost, and many others are still out there. We must save them.
I’m Dr. Miriam Grossman, author of Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness and Senior Fellow at DoNoHarm Medicine, for Prager University.
The comments about Kamala Harris and her reference to the cloud can be categorized and summarized into a few general themes:
Criticism of Intelligence or Competence Many commenters express skepticism about Harris’s intelligence, often using humor or sarcasm. Comments like “She has 0 brain cells,” “She’s a real airhead,” or “Her brain is not in a physical place” suggest disbelief in her intellectual capacity to lead the country. Others mock her understanding of technology, such as “What does she think hard drives & servers are made of – fairy floss & gummy balls.”
Political Concerns and Warnings Some comments reflect deep political concern, worrying about the future of the U.S. under Harris’s leadership. Phrases like “America is doomed,” “We are f… if this thing gets elected,” and “God help us all” convey a fear of negative consequences if Harris were to become president. This theme also includes distrust in the electoral process, with comments like “Another fixed election if she wins.”
Humorous and Sarcastic Responses Many comments are simply humorous or sarcastic, poking fun at the idea of Harris being “in the cloud” or out of touch with reality. Examples include: “Biden is in the basement and she’s in the cloud” and “In the cloud where your brain lives.” These comments aim to ridicule her perceived detachment from practical matters.
Supportive and Positive Comments A minority of the comments express support for Harris, praising her leadership qualities or potential. For example, “We’re all praying that She’ll be the next President” and “I love her! She so awesome! Next President for sure.”
Religious Appeals Several comments invoke religious sentiment, either praying for help or using religious language to express disbelief or hope. Examples include: “God help us all” and “May GOD help us all 🙏.”
General Disdain for Leadership A recurring theme in the comments is a dissatisfaction with the current leadership in the U.S., often conflating Harris and Biden in the critiques. Comments like “Biden is in the basement and she’s in the cloud” and “She is explaining why we have floundered around as a nation” reflect a broader critique of the administration’s performance. These categories show a blend of political, emotional, and humorous responses to Harris’s remarks about the cloud, with most of the commentary leaning toward negative or mocking tones.
In a cloud, not in a physical place, seriously this is the mentality of the person in charge of the most powerful nation on earth. What does she think hard drives & servers are made of -fairy floss & gummy balls Her brain cells are working to hard for the logic 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪
She is explaining why we have floundered around as a nation for the past 3 1/2-years and wants to continue this level of leadership for the next 8-years – “in this cloud that exists above us right!”
I love her! She so awesome! Next President for sure. First up is changing our Foreign Policy in Haiti, South America and the Sahel region of Africa. She’ll Make America the good guys again!!
ENOUGH WITH THE HATE!!! WHY SPREAD HATE?!? Like one side is better than the other, NO MAN OR WOMAN ON THIS EARTH WILL SAVE US. Also, God didn’t teach us to spread hate, and God doesn’t hate anyone he shows love. So why are we spreading hate?!? Ridiculous 🙄
Oh yeah , she’s definitely presidential material. Can you imagine her talking to Putin or Xi of China negotiating trade deals and economic policies and issues for America and the American people
The Cloud: A network of servers: The cloud is a network of remote servers that are connected and work together as a single system. These servers are located in data centers around the world and are used to store and manage data, run applications, and provide services like streaming videos, web mail, and office productivity software. Cloud computing is the delivery of these services over the internet, which allows users to access their files and applications from any device with an internet connection. This eliminates the need for users to manage physical resources themselves, and they can pay for only the services they use.
I have probably viewed 10,000 Earthquake patterns in Hawaii, and I can say that I have never seen a pattern that even remotely looked like the current one. Keep in mind, that big 4.7 EQ right on the Hilina Slump last week.
Review that in light of the 6.9 EQ that just hit Tonga, and deep at 100km. Now review back 2 years, January 2022, to the largest earthquake in 100 years at Hunga Tonga. It created pressure waves that were detected by even home weather stations across the world. There were underwater pyroclastic flows of lava that went as far as 80 km!!!!
LOL as much as I like and appreciate the research, these scientists repeatedly throw down “there is so much more work to do”, whilst ignoring the realities of the global electric circuit, and space weather. And they don’t know Nova! Below video from Nova. It erupted for 8 hours and then finally went off with equivalent 70 million tons of TNT.
stock here: some reality is always good. Especially now. When whitey is especially demonized against all others. This Hawaiian historian presents history in ways we haven’t seen before, even after living there 35 years. I was at a symposium of US expert historians talking on a wide range of subjects. I would say they mostly held a liberal slant, but I did not detect the “leftist” at least overtly. And several of them talked about the subject of Indian Slavery….indeed Indians held other, conquered Indians, as Slaves. Not exactly the “live in harmony” meme that we have been fed all our lives.
King Kamehameha is revered for “uniting the island”. He decimated 3000 men, in Maui, in his desire to take Keapuilani as his wife. But after the battle she escaped to Molokai, and then her grandmother
stock here: I have spent several hours watching Vance interviews and debates over the past week. This guy is sharp, and he does not fall for argumentative traps. Here is one example.
stock here: is anyone else paying attention to this stuff? My Third Eye told me immediately that Hannah was an important part of all of this, and so I did an exhaustive search on her. Found some post mortem quotes from her friends at school, not a single picture, pretty much she was a ghost to the internet.
Well looky there, it appears the NYPost has a larger budget than me, they found a picture, notice the clenched hand on the girl and the bad teeth on big Lynch.
On the first day after the sinking, they said they found Mr Lynch and Hannah in a room trapped by mattresses. So why did they then just find Hannah yesterday?
The ship builder fully blames the captain and crew……
“The torture lasted 16 minutes. It went down, not in one minute as some scientists have said. It went down in 16 minutes. You can see it from the charts, from the AIS [Automatic Identification System] tracking chart,” he told The Financial Times.
“The captain should have prepared the boat and put it in a state of alert and of safety.”
“Ask yourself – why were none of the Porticello fishermen out that night? A fisherman checks the conditions and a ship doesn’t? The disturbance was completely readable on all the weather maps. It was impossible not to know,” he added.
Great Thanks to Miss Frill, aka Flying Cuttlefish, who brought this to my attention. I have meant to return to the study of the Magnetic North Pole movement (excursion). There is a wealth of information in this video, of course I have subscribed.
Chatty: Let’s break down and explain the elements of the figure and the associated terms mentioned:
Maximum Declination Deviations: Declination refers to the angle between magnetic north and true north. In geomagnetic studies, this deviation is important because it affects navigation systems that rely on magnetic compasses. Maximum Declination Deviations refer to the largest observed differences in declination during a specific geomagnetic storm.
G3 Storm: G3 Storm indicates a geomagnetic storm of moderate intensity according to the NOAA Space Weather Scales. Geomagnetic storms are disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field caused by solar activity, such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections.
February 27, 2023: The date of the specific G3 storm event being analyzed.
White and Black Circles: White Circles represent observatories where the maximum declination deviation during the storm was less than 1°. This means that the deviation from the expected magnetic north was minimal at these locations. Black Circles denote observatories where the maximum deviation exceeded 7°. This indicates a significant deviation from the expected magnetic north, which could impact navigation and other magnetic-sensitive operations.
WMM (World Magnetic Model): The World Magnetic Model (WMM) is a model that provides information about the Earth’s magnetic field. It is used for navigation and various applications that rely on accurate magnetic data. The WMM is updated periodically to reflect changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.
Contour Lines: Blue Solid Contour (2000 nT): This contour represents a horizontal magnetic field value of 2000 nanoteslas (nT). In the context of the WMM, this is used to define the blackout zone. Areas within this zone may experience significant magnetic field deviations that could affect magnetic navigation systems or instruments. Blue Dashed Contour (6000 nT): This contour represents a horizontal magnetic field value of 6000 nT and indicates the caution zone. This zone is less critical than the blackout zone but still indicates areas where the magnetic field values might be higher than usual, warranting caution in terms of magnetic navigation. Summary: The figure is illustrating the impact of the G3 geomagnetic storm on the magnetic declination at various observatories on February 27, 2023. The white and black circles show the extent of declination deviation, highlighting observatories with minimal versus significant deviations. The blue contours mark regions of different magnetic field strengths relative to the WMM, with specific thresholds for blackout and caution zones. The WMM helps in assessing these impacts, and the contours indicate areas where magnetic deviations are notable enough to require attention.
After decades of data showing added fluoride is a neurotoxin, someone finally decides the ’safe and effective’ lie must die. Cognitive disruption via toxic ingestion is visible throughout American society. Bearing the weight of evidence likely became too much for mid-level toxicologists. Perhaps the threat of mass resignation and unified whistleblowing put the fear of god, or jail, in government policy managers.
So you suppose this study will inspire a renewed clean water campaign in Anchorage? If Anchorage can quit its fluoride habit, it will benefit beluga whales. As a result of fluoride in Anchorage water, Cook Inlet receives tons of poison annually. No wonder they fail to thrive.
stock here: Excellent substack, I am familiar with GHB but I didn’t know it had multiple benefits, including Growth Hormone for Weight Training. I think this would go excellent along with a program to increase Testosterone, without the horrors of TRT “therapy”. I followed a guru on Linkedin, who had a free, and a paid, coached method for increasing T levels. Like most medical issues of importance, at least at the beginning, I was only partly aware of the important of T for men. Mine was 300, until I started following the Guru, and 6 months later on a re-test, it was 703 which is really good for my age. My goal is 900. Above 1100 you can start getting into some problems, so I will retest in October. I am having breaded and deep fried with Panko flake Oyster and Beef Liver (pre-soaked in milk) tonight, a super High-T double blast. I would say for sure I feel better, and my weight training is easier to go hard, and get results.
The Power of Sleep: Proper sleep is essential for our health, and disruptions can lead to severe issues like heart attacks, psychiatric illnesses, car accidents, fatigue, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and dementia.
A Widespread Epidemic: Poor sleep affects many due to a lack of understanding about its importance and the use of sedative sleeping pills that hinder healthy sleep. For instance, medical training often deprives students of sleep, despite its critical role in learning.
The Forgotten Miracle Drug: In 1964, a remarkably effective sleeping medication hit the market, improving conditions like insomnia and overall health. However, its success threatened other drug markets. By 1990, the FDA and media launched a campaign against it, much like the case with ivermectin, resulting in the drug becoming almost unknown and many sleep disorders remaining untreated.
What You’ll Learn: This abridged article delves into the harms of poor sleep, explores common causes, and uncovers effective treatments for sleeping disorders.
One of the key themes I’ve tried to illustrate in my writings is that chronic illness has vastly increased over the last 150 years. A major cause of this is the disruption of the natural rhythms essential for our body’s self-regulation and self-repair.
Modern Medicine (Allopathy) often overlooks this concept because it doesn’t recognize the innate health of the body. Allopathic treatments focus on stabilizing or altering the body (e.g., ICU care or surgery) and hoping it heals itself, unlike other medical systems that enhance the body’s natural recovery capacity.
Typically, Allopathy excels with acute conditions, while a health-augmenting approach is better for chronic illnesses, an area where Allopathy often falls short. Here are three reasons why the Allopathic model dominates:
Economic Incentives: The Allopathic model creates many expensive treatments and diagnostics, making it highly profitable and incentivizing its dominance in the medical market.
Cultural Psychology: Our culture’s need to control and understand everything leads to methods that dominate nature rather than work harmoniously with it, opposing the philosophy of trusting the body’s natural healing.
Research Bias: Medical research favors treatments that show immediate, observable changes (like lowering blood pressure) rather than those that promote gradual, long-term recovery, skewing the focus towards pharmaceutical interventions.The Forgotten Side of Medicine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. To see how others have benefitted from this newsletter, click here!Upgrade to paid
The Impact of Natural Rhythms on Health
The health of the body relies heavily on the normal functioning of self-regulating cycles:
Breathing: Slow, smooth, nasal breathing profoundly impacts health and longevity by regulating many critical physiological functions.
Sunlight: Regular exposure to sunlight is vital for health, and its absence doubles the risk of mortality and can lead to conditions like depression or cancer.
Physical Activity: Regular exercise is crucial, and a sedentary lifestyle leads to significant health issues. Those who walk daily often experience dramatically improved longevity.
Mental Rest: The mind needs to alternate between rest and activity, but modern life often forces constant thinking and stress.
In short, many of the natural rhythms our bodies rely upon for self-regulation are heavily disrupted in modern society, which in turn results in a variety of consistent derangements to normal physiology that are now seen throughout the population.
The Importance of Sleep
Throughout my career, I’ve met many integrative practitioners who emphasize normalizing their patient’s sleep as a crucial step in treating chronic illness. Sleep is a foundational process for restoring health, yet patients with chronic illnesses often suffer from disrupted sleep cycles, which can be challenging to correct.
Sleep is a tightly regulated cycle, highly responsive to environmental signals and essential for maintaining other critical body rhythms. During sleep, the body cycles through different phases, each with critical functions: deep NREM sleep heals the brain and drains toxins, while REM sleep consolidates memories and processes emotions.
A typical sleep cycle goes as follows:
Note: since REM sleep predominates later at night, not sleeping long enough disproportionately disrupts REM sleep. NREM sleep is responsible for eliminating unnecessary memories, whereas REM sleep processes the day’s experiences and reinforces them into long-term memory.
Matthew Walker is one of the world’s most vocal sleep researchers. In his book Why We Sleep, he argues that sleep serves several vital functions, including:
Any individual, no matter what age, will exhibit physical ailments, mental health instability, reduced alertness, and impaired memory if their sleep is chronically disrupted.
Even when controlling for factors such as body mass index, gender, race, history of smoking, frequency of exercise, and medications, the lower an older individual’s sleep efficiency score, the higher their mortality risk, the worse their physical health, the more likely they are to suffer from depression, the less energy they report, and the lower their cognitive function, typified by forgetfulness.
The Sleep Crisis
Adequate sleep requires:
Sufficient time set aside for sleep.
Ability to fall asleep quickly.
Cycling through all sleep phases once asleep.
Adults generally need 7-9 hours per night, with infants and children needing more. Unfortunately, many people don’t get enough sleep, contributing to widespread health issues.
Key Points:
Gallup poll 57% of Americans want more sleep; only 42% get enough.
Of the elderly 30-48% have insomnia symptoms; 12-20% have insomnia disorders. Aging reduces sleep efficiency and quality, and increases nighttime awakenings.
The problem lies in the nature of most sleeping pills: they are sedatives, not sleep aids. They sedate the brain, impairing its ability to initiate restorative sleep, leaving users tired and at risk for health issues. Studies have shown that sleeping pill users are significantly more likely to die early and develop cancer. For example, one study found a twofold increase in mortality for sleeping pill users, with another study reporting a 3.6-5.4 times higher death rate for users over 2.5 years, and an increased cancer risk of 7-99%. This in turn, led the authors to conclude that in 2010, prescription sleeping pills “may have been associated with 320,000-507,000 excess deaths within the USA alone.”
Most prescription sleeping pills, like Ambien, are “sedative hypnotics” similar to benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium), which are addictive and often used long-term despite being intended for short-term use. Over-the-counter options, like Benadryl or Unisom, are antihistamines that also disrupt the sleep cycle. Alcohol, with a similar mechanism to benzodiazepines, is another addictive sedative that inhibits sleep long after being ingested.
Gamma-Hydroxy-Butarate
While most sleeping medications are unsafe and ineffective, one drug, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), has shown remarkable results. Developed in 1874, GHB was marketed in Europe as an intravenous anesthetic in 1964. Despite its benefits, it wasn’t practical for surgeries but was useful in intensive care due to its unique properties:
Slows heart rate without blood pressure loss
Doesn’t irritate veins
Doesn’t suppress respiratory centers
Relaxes muscles
Induces sleep without reducing oxygen consumption
Protects tissues from injury
Decades of research followed and demonstrated GHB’s extraordinary properties and low toxicity. It metabolizes to succinate and water, has a high LD50, and no deaths have been conclusively attributed to it. GHB is a powerful sleep aid, restoring deep sleep cycles and leaving individuals refreshed—in many cases after just 3-4 hours of sleep.
As more scientists (and then members of the public) began exploring the drug, according to Ward Dean MD (who provided extensive references to support his claims), through decades of research, they found a variety of benefits from GHB including:
Dramatically increases growth hormone levels, enhancing strength, stamina, muscle mass, and healing (hence making it very popular with bodybuilders).
Aids childbirth by relaxing the mother, dilating the cervix and protecting the fetus (whereas alternatives like opioids endanger the fetus).
Acts as an aphrodisiac, enhancing sexual intimacy, performance and female orgasm.
Facilitates therapeutic breakthroughs by reducing inhibitions.
Has a disinhibiting effect similar to alcohol, but makes individuals friendly rather than aggressive.
Temporarily alleviates anxiety without the side effects of benzodiazepines.
Given these remarkable benefits and the decades of research supporting its use, why has no one ever heard of it?
The Ivermectin of Sleep Medicines
The medical industry often uses public relations to create campaigns that generate profits at the expense of public health.
For instance, dermatologists rebranded themselves as skin cancer fighters, spreading hysteria about skin cancer and sunlight dangers. This transformed dermatology into a lucrative field, despite the essential health benefits of sunlight. Similarly, during COVID-19, the FDA downplayed the benefits of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, creating unwarranted fear and blocking their use.
GHB’s story mirrors this pattern. In the early 1990s, as it gained popularity as a supplement (largely due to bodybuilders recognizing the value of it increasing growth hormone in the body), the FDA and CDC publicized adverse reactions to it, despite no fatalities (e.g., hospital doctors misinterpreted the brief deep sleep it created as a coma requiring intubation) . As recounted by Ward Dean M.D., this led to an FDA ban, highly deceptive press releases, and a variety of illegal enforcement actions that were eventually overturned in court.
The FDA then helped create a media hysteria over GHB, fueled by comparisons to Rohypnol (“Roofies”) and made up GHB tragedies, led to its portrayal as a dangerous date-rape drug. This culminated in a 2000 Federal anti-date rape drug law 2000 that made GHB a Schedule I drug, while simultaneously enshrining a pharmaceutical GHB preparation as a Schedule III drug. Note: to be a schedule I drug, there can be no acceptable medical use for the substance—which is hence irreconcilable with the FDA approved preparation of it being a schedule III drug.
In reality, GHB was rarely involved in sexual assaults and had a distinct easily detectable taste. Misleading media reports and government actions overshadowed the actual data and research. Most remarkably GHB, Rohypnol (Roofies) avoided similar bans due to effective lobbying by its manufacturer, is still a schedule IV drug in America (where it was never brought to market) and remains legal in many countries.
stock here, I like this substacker’s approach. He says 1 in 1 Billion, I think it is even more remote. I covered the topic in my prior article.
Stephen “Steve” Chamberlain, 52, was struck by a car in Cambridgeshire, England, on Saturday, August 17 at around 10:10 a.m. Less than 48 hours later, Chamberlain’s former business partner, Mike Lynch, apparently drowned when his super yacht named Bayesian sank while at anchor off the coast of Sicily.
Chamberlain and Lynch were co-defendants in a U.S. trial over their tech company Autonomy. Both men were accused of fraud and conspiracy over allegedly inflating their company’s earnings to secure an $11 billion deal with Hewlett-Packard. Both were acquitted of all 15 charges in June by a San Francisco jury.
The Bayesian was named after a statistical method for assessing probability, formulated by the 18th century British mathematician and presbyterian minister, Thomas Bayes.
Bayes’ Theorem is a mathematical formula for calculating conditional probability—that is, the likelihood of an outcome occurring based on a previous outcome in similar circumstances. Bayes’ Theorem is tool for updating existing probability assessments given new or additional evidence.
A probability assessment based entirely on the frequency or propensity of cyclists getting struck by cars in Cambridgeshire and modern super yachts sinking in freak weather events in the Med would probably find that the chance of these two events happening randomly within 48 hours of each other to be less than 1 in a billion. I’ll leave it to pro statisticians to compile the data and do the proper math on this one.
However, if investigators find grounds for suspecting Steve Chamberlain’s death was no accident, but staged to look like one, this could enable investigators to perform a Bayesian interpretation of the probability of Mike Lynch’s yacht sinking 48 hours later. If it is determined that someone had an interest in eliminating Steve Chamberlain, this raises the probability that Lynch’s subsequent death was related to Chamberlain’s and was also no accident.
A Bayesian interpretation performed at the time Chamberlain was struck could have warranted alerting Mike Lynch (and his guests on the yacht) that a their lives were in danger and that extraordinary security measures should be taken to secure the vessel.
I hasten to add that the above reflections are more a matter of intuition than a proper understanding of how to perform a Bayesian probability assessment. I welcome the pro statisticians among our readers to chime in with their expertise.
stock here: at some point there will be a slump slip of size, and a large Tsunami. Chatty helps below. I am not sure why “scientists” always seem to downplay risks, and then when it happens “we never could have predicted this”. Perhaps they are trying to increase their credibility by appearing to be “the cooler head”. Not cool at all.
The Hilina Slump on the Big Island of Hawaii is a large section of the southeastern flank of the Kilauea volcano that is slowly moving seaward. The potential for significant movement of this slump is a source of concern because it could lead to large earthquakes and possibly tsunamis. Here’s a summary of the geological events associated with the Hilina Slump and related earthquakes and tsunamis over the past 300 years:
The Hilina Slump: Location: The Hilina Slump is located on the southeastern coast of the Big Island, part of the Kilauea volcano’s flank. It is one of the most significant examples of a volcanic flank slump—a large mass of land that is slowly sliding into the ocean.
Size: The slump covers an area of over 5,000 square kilometers, extending both on land and under the sea.
Movement: The Hilina Slump is moving seaward at a slow rate of a few centimeters per year due to volcanic activity and gravity. The area is regularly monitored for signs of accelerated movement, which could indicate instability and the potential for a large landslide. Earthquakes Associated with the Hilina Slump: 1868 Earthquake: One of the most significant seismic events associated with the Hilina Slump occurred on April 2, 1868. This was a massive earthquake estimated at a magnitude of 7.9, which struck the southeast coast of the Big Island. Damage: The earthquake caused widespread destruction, including the collapse of buildings and landslides. It also triggered a major tsunami. Tsunami: The tsunami generated by the 1868 earthquake devastated coastal areas, with wave heights reported to be as much as 15 meters (50 feet) in some locations. The tsunami reached as far as California and Japan, though with less intensity. 1975 Kalapana Earthquake: On November 29, 1975, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Kalapana, on the southeastern flank of Kilauea. This earthquake was also associated with the movement of the Hilina Slump. Tsunami: The quake generated a tsunami with wave heights of up to 14 meters (46 feet) locally. It caused extensive damage along the Hawaiian coastlines and resulted in two fatalities. Slump Movement: The 1975 earthquake caused a significant shift in the Hilina Slump, moving the coastline seaward by up to 8 meters (26 feet) in some areas. This event heightened concerns about the potential for larger, more catastrophic movements. Tsunami Potential and Concerns: Tsunami Risk: The movement of the Hilina Slump, especially in the event of a rapid, large-scale landslide, could generate a massive local tsunami that would devastate the Hawaiian Islands and possibly affect distant coastlines across the Pacific. Modeling: Scientists have modeled worst-case scenarios, where a sudden collapse of the Hilina Slump could result in extremely large tsunamis. Some models predict wave heights of up to 30 meters (100 feet) or more in extreme cases, though such scenarios are considered rare and unlikely in the short term. Recent Activity: Slow Slip: In recent years, the Hilina Slump has continued its gradual seaward movement, but there have been no significant events comparable to the 1868 or 1975 earthquakes. However, Kilauea’s frequent eruptions and seismic activity in the area keep the region under close observation. 2018 Eruption and Seismic Activity: The 2018 eruption of Kilauea triggered increased seismic activity in the region, with thousands of small earthquakes. While this did not cause a large slump collapse, it served as a reminder of the area’s potential instability. Conclusion: The Hilina Slump is a geologically active and potentially dangerous feature of the Big Island. While the slow movement of the slump is normal, past earthquakes associated with it—such as those in 1868 and 1975—have caused large tsunamis and significant damage. The potential for future large-scale movement and resulting tsunamis is a subject of ongoing research and monitoring, as even a partial collapse of the slump could have devastating effects on the Hawaiian Islands and beyond.
